Some on Simpson jury disagreed with 1995 acquittal

Posted: Sunday, October 05, 2008

By KATHLEEN HENNESSEY

LAS VEGAS - The jurors in O.J. Simpson’s armed robbery and kidnapping trial claimed a mixture of opinions about his acquittal on murder charges more than a decade ago, but all told attorneys they could set aside their feelings.

According to jury questionnaires released Saturday, five of the 12 jurors wrote that they disagreed with the 1995 verdict that cleared Simpson in the deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman. Most others claimed to be uncertain or did not answer the question.

The Las Vegas jury of three men and nine women convicted Simpson and co-defendant Clarence “C.J.” Stewart of all charges stemming from a botched hotel-room heist a year ago. Both men could spend the rest of their lives in prison.

Redacted versions of the questionnaires were made public by Clark County District Judge Jackie Glass after The Associated Press and Stephens Media LLC, the owners of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, petitioned for their release.

As released, the 26-page, 116-question surveys blacked out some information about the jury, including hometowns, parents’ occupations and details of past experience with the judicial system. The surveys were used to identify prospective jurors with biases and to reduce the jury pool.

They revealed the jury was largely made up of middle-age people who claimed to pay little or no attention to Simpson’s past legal troubles.

The jury contained 11 people who identified as Caucasian and one who identified as Hispanic. There were two African-American alternates, but none who helped decide the case.

Asked about when she first heard of Simpson, 32-year-old Consuelo Saldivar, among the youngest jurors, replied, “A long time ago. I believe he was being chased down a freeway. That’s about all I know.”

David Wieberg, a 51-year-old manager, was among those who said he disagreed with the 1995 verdict.

“No, I don’t believe the jury consider(ed) the facts,” he wrote. Wieberg also said he agreed with the outcome of the civil trial that found Simpson liable for the deaths.

“It may have given the victims’ families some satisfaction,” he wrote.

Jury foreman Paul Connelly, a 41-year-old mechanical engineer, was the only juror to write that he agreed with the 1995 acquittal.

“He was tried and acquitted. It was a separate issue,” Connelly wrote. “He was given a fair trial, which resulted in an outcome.”

Connelly said he “strongly agreed” that African-American defendants receive the same treatment as other defendants in the judicial system.

Preschool teacher Teresa Owens, 44, disagreed with the murder trial verdict, and in another portion of the survey expressed an attitude that appeared to guide the jury in its Friday deliberations.